Beyond in love with my Moneta and endless fun at the Moneta Party!

Last weekend was pretty intense. I am not one to be glued to my phone all day, let alone to social media, but the #monetaparty… well, that was something else. I guess it should have been called a Moneta rave since it lasted for 3 days non-stop! I wasn’t sure how an IG party was going to be but it definitely passed all my expectations. I was just so amazing to see all the different monetas made by sewists around the world! Different fabrics, different body shapes, different alterations, different styles… it was just unbelievable! So many good ideas, so much inspiration… but the most amazing thing was all the kind words that went around from seamstress to seamstress praising the goodness and beauty of their dresses. That was the real party to me, a party where kindness and encouragement was celebrated, where there was a place for everyone, and where even those who sadly got to it a bit too late, still could share their beautiful makes. I can’t but thank again @sewpositivity, @rach_wain and @sewabigail for organising such a fun, delirious and heart-warming party.

Apart from attending an amazing party (can we do this every Saturday night, please?) this dress doubled up as the mommy make for this month’s @sewingmamasproject, and I’m so glad we joined the party because mamas not get many chances to do that often, do they?

Before I got making my Moneta, I spend a couple of quiet evenings to put some thought on the dress. I don’t really wear anything remotely vintage-y, mainly because I don’t feel it suits me, so I tried to keep the Moneta style with a slightly spotter look to it. After quite a few sketches, I decided on going for a ballet inspired dress, which allowed me to keep the style lines pretty much as they are but giving it a twist that felt much more like me.

My mods were very simple:

Raised front neckline by about 2 cm so nothing is on show (because there is nothing to show)

Lower back neckline up to the lowest point I could without my bra showing

Cut the skirt two sizes bigger than the waist for extra fullness on the skirt

Lengthen the skirt to mid-calf

In my opinion, these simple adjustments really transformed the style of the dress whilst keeping true to the original shape.

I recently discovered the pleasures and the skill of mixing sizes within a pattern so actually fits, so this dress it’s the first one in my sewing life ever that I feel it’s the right size all around it. I cut size XS for the bust area to ensure a snug fit around the bust and back and avoid gapping on the back scoop. I think the lined top of version 1 really helps to keep everything in place around the back area, especially with such a low scoop. Then I graded to size S around the wait. And then I cut size L for the skirt.

Fabric wise, I used a grey cotton jersey with tiny glittery blue spots to add a bit of sparkle to this affair. For me grey jersey is a synonym of sportiness, so I think the fabric choice really helped to create the style I was after. For the lining I chose a electric blue powernet to keep it in tune with its sporty/ballet nature.

By this point I was totally nuts and deep into thought and love with my Moneta that I had the “brilliant” idea of wearing my old ballet pumps to style the shoot. When I took them out of the box where they were, I loved seeing their handmade bag that I cross stitched and made for them when I was only twelve. That was a real trip down memory lane and it just made me realised that my passion for sewing had started way before I thought it had. The not so good thing about this wearing-my-pumps idea is that they are flipping painful!! How did I ever managed to dance for hours on those? It will always remain a mystery.

If you’ve read all the way to here, then we must be very good friends because this post turned out much longer than I intended! Thank you so much for reading everyone!